Notice of Intent to Sole Source Liquid Helium Supply and Liquid Helium Pump Lease for NASA/KSC

NASA's Kennedy Space Center is issuing a notice of intent to sole source a contract for liquid helium supply and liquid helium pump lease services to support the Converter Compressor Facility (CCF) at KSC. The procurement involves the continued lease of a contractor-owned and proprietary liquid helium pump that supports the critical gaseous helium pipeline serving KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is essential for all current launch activities. NASA intends to award this sole source contract to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APCI) under FAR 6.302-1, citing that only one responsible source can satisfy the agency requirements. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications electronically to Kristal Kerr at Kristal.Kerr@nasa.gov by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on September 30, 2025. The Government will evaluate these submissions solely to determine whether to conduct the acquisition on a competitive basis, though the decision to forego full and open competition remains within the Government's discretion.

This procurement does not utilize any set-aside designations and identifies Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. as the intended sole source contractor. The contract period of performance will run from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, structured as a base period of four months, one two-month option period, and five one-month option periods. The procurement involves a single liquid helium pump that currently supports the entire gaseous helium pipeline infrastructure throughout the spaceport. The acquisition falls under NAICS code 325120 (Industrial Gas Manufacturing) and PSC code 9135 (Liquid Propellant Fuels And Oxidizers, Chemical Base), and NASA intends to treat this as a commercial product or service acquisition under FAR Part 12. No specific award values or budget ranges are disclosed in this pre-solicitation notice.